Greetings from the Chimera Studio!
Today, we would like to discuss the real-time combat system in Songs of Silence: touching on battles, army management, perks, and formations. Each of these topics could be an article, so we will only briefly cover them today and will provide more detailed information in future posts. This is a series of articles, so make sure you don't miss the future ones ;) by following us on Steam, Twitter, and Discord.
Before you start reading, check the previous dev. diary pieces to learn more about Songs of Silence, and don’t forget to Wishlist and Follow our game on Steam!
REAL-TIME BATTLES
* 1000 Kingdoms faction army VS Mixed neutral army
In our game, we want to ensure that players are empowered to focus on important strategic decisions without being bogged down by tedious tasks. To accomplish this goal, the game flow in Songs of Silence has been optimized for speed and efficiency, with turns progressing rapidly from the beginning to the endgame.
To this end, we wanted to create cinematic battles which are fun to watch, have enough depth for positioning and unit interactions to matter but can be completed in around one minute.
To complete a campaign map, players need to fight plenty of battles. Making them short and sweet was a key goal to achieving our game’s tagline: “Complete a map in a single evening”.
UNITS AND PERKS
* Rose Knight neutral unit portrait
To keep these battles exciting, we've designed a massive roster of diverse units, each with its own set of strengths and weaknesses. Some are tied to specific factions, while others belong to a vast “neutral” pool, and can be recruited by anyone under the right circumstances.
All units have their own unique rules, called “perks”, but they also have tags, such as “Knight”, “Starborn”, or “Monster”. Creating strong synergies between units and heroes is important to excel in the game while devising ways to outmaneuver rival armies.
* Units perks
Heroes also have their pool of cards to further influence battles. A High Lord’s “Knightly Charge” card allows knight and cavalry-type units to smash across the battlefield and is most effective with mounted army builds.
Read the previous dev.diary article to learn more about the cards in Songs of Silence.
ARMY FORMATION
* Army management & formation
A significant factor in winning battles is the formation of your armies. Placing units in different positions can have a massive impact on the battle outcome. Preparing and adjusting your formations beforehand is crucial to achieve success since they cannot be changed once the fight begins.
BATTLEFIELD HEAT
* Knightly Charge Battle card effect
Once the battle starts, you can use Battle Cards to manage your forces, call for reinforcements or defend your units to gain the upper hand on the battlefield. Among the most influential Battle Cards in the game are Movement cards that provide precise control over unit positioning, and they come in a wide variety.
TACTICAL PAUSE & WINNING CONDITIONS
Will we implement it in Songs of Silence? Yes, in single-player mode, you can always hit the pause button to make strategic decisions without feeling rushed.
The battle ends when one side is destroyed, or an army’s morale breaks down, and one of the armies retreats.
* Victory screen
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That’s it for now! As we said initially, the combat system is a big topic, and we’d love to tell you more in the next update.
If you have any comments or questions, leave a thumbs up and a message below. And don’t forget to follow Songs of Silence on Reddit, Twitter, and Discord.